Tears on my bike shorts

Two days ago we cycled back into Christchurch, the place where we started our cycling adventure. It was if the heavens were rewarding us for all of our hard work, a strong Westerly was blowing at our backs, a massive tail wind pushing us back to the East Coast. We had come full circle.
Waking up on the last morning we were struck with a couple of different feelings.
We were excited. It was kind of like we were going home in a way, back to something familiar. We were headed back to our Couch Surfing hosts, Rich and Col, the people who had literally put us on our bikes and pushed us off for our first ride almost 2 months ago. We had come so far, had so many stories to share and could actually talk about biking from experience!

On the other hand, there was a sadness, the first leg of our journey was coming to an end. Where had 6 weeks gone? Had we really biked all that way? Been all of those places? Done all of those things that we had been talking about doing for so long? How did that time pass so quickly?

Arriving back in Christchruch we knew we would have to make some decisions. We have two weeks left in New Zealand before we head to Australia, and we have yet to see a large part of the South Island.

Therefore, we have decided that the bikes will have to take a backseat for a while.

We are going to rent a car.

For some reason, I am having serious angst over this decision. I am not done with riding. I'm not ready to say goodbye to my bike, to riding everyday, the challenge of climbing and the euphoria of making it to the top, the wind in my face and the sun, warm on my back, the slow pace of travel and the freedom of eating a big breakfast, a big lunch and a big dinner too! On the diabetes front, I am really not looking forward to the switch back to higher basals and boluses.

There are other adventures in the works, and this is the basis behind the car decision, but I am having trouble letting go. I am actually really sad.

I guess that's where good old flexibility comes into the picture again.
Since booking our tickets and buying our bikes, all kinds of things have happened that have morphed our trip into something different than the original 'plan'. Those 'things' are what have made this trip what it is. What's most exciting is that I have no doubt that plans will continue to change, flex and metamorphasize, adding dimensions and adventures that I never could have hoped for. Just a few that have popped up in the past little while...our good Aussie friend, Simon, was supposed to be working in Alaska, but that fell through, he will now be in Australia when we are. My mom, auntie and unkie will be joining us on the North Island of New Zealand in May, my univeristy housemate Kathleen will be flying to meet us and travel in Australia in April and we may just be doing a little biking in Australia (which we hadn't intended).

Rob and I were just talking about how different our experiences here would have been if we had headed south from Christchurch instead of west 6 weeks ago...one simple decision that would have resulted in a completely different trip. Bizzare to think.

So this decision to rent a car is a good one. Although it is not the way I imagined it, it is just another curve in the road, the next chapter in the story, the next draft of the plan.

It has also provided me with a little insight into myself...
It's funny, when we first started out, I imagined myself throwing my bike of a mountain at the end of the trip, happy to be out of the saddle and never having to pack another pannier ever again, but now, the thought of putting my bike in a garage for a few weeks makes me well up, seriously. I think I may have found yet another activity that will need to become a part of my life for good.
It looks like I am going to need one heck of a gear room.